Secretary of State moves forward with investigation into El Paso County GOP finances
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Secretary of State's Office is moving forward with its investigation into alleged campaign finance law violations by the El Paso County Republican Party.
The alleged campaign finance law violations, including the possibility that at least $50,000 and high price auction items from a summer fundraiser are missing, were first revealed in a complaint by El Paso County Republican Party Vice-Chair Karl Scheider.
"The Division initially determines that Complainant identified potential violations of Colorado campaign finance law and alleged sufficient facts to support a legal and factual basis regarding the alleged violations. Accordingly, the Division will investigate the allegations contained in the Complaint pursuant to section," the Secretary of State's Office said following its review of the Schneider's complaint.
In the complaint obtained by 13 Investigates, Schneider alleges the party's failure to report expenditures or contributions for the Lincoln Day Dinner on August 6th. The keynote speaker for that fundraising event was Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
According to emails in the complaint, then-treasurer of the El Paso County GOP John Pitchford told high ranking members of the party on Oct. 1 that he was having difficulty finding accurate records from the event, and requested a "full inventory of all Lincoln Day items sold and unsold."
After echoing calls for an audit of the summer fundraising dinner following Pitchford's October email, Schneider tells 13 Investigates his official party email account was turned off.
Eleven days after the initial email asking for a complete inventory of the items, Pitchford announced his retirement to the El Paso County GOP leadership via email.
Despite his previous email in October saying he was having difficulty finding records from the summer fundraising dinner, Pitchford told us on Monday there was nothing to the campaign finance complaint.
"It's absolutely completely bogus," Pitchford said.
Pitchford says he resigned for reasons unrelated to the campaign finance issues.
"Our books are balanced. So, there's no issue with our books. We just have an issue with figuring out who the donors are and getting that information input to the state. It's a common thing," Pitchford said.
Last week, El Paso County GOP Chairwoman Vickie Tonkins said the allegations of missing money were untrue.
"We are not breaking the law," Tonkins said. "Ludicrous ... that is an absolute, and total and complete lie. Let's be clear on that."
Tonkins said after Monday night's Republican Party meeting she believed the complaint would be "thrown out" on December 9.
"There's nothing there," Tonkins said.
13 Investigates has reached out to Tonkins following the Secretary of State's Office decision to move forward with further investigation.
The Secretary of State's Office declined to comment but added in a response that the enforcement division has "sole discretion, without the Secretary's or Deputy [Secretary of State's] input, as to which complaints are sent to the OAC for further evaluation by a third-party hearing officer."
